This series to me is more of a drama than a comedy. The charters are well developed. Without this series, no one would know who Judd Hirsch (Alex Reiger) even is. But Alex is a straight man in this show who everyone plays off. There are attempts at UN-intelligent humor on occasion, but often the absurdity of the character is played up too hard for quick laughs. This show made Tony Danza who I have never found very appealing even when he did Who's The Boss?. Louie De Palma (Danny Devito) is a funny talented guy who made a lot out of the run of this show but at the same time, his comedy is often limited in this because he always has to be the obnoxious & over-bearing boss, Louie. Andy Kaufman (Ladka) is funny, but often in this is given UN-intelligent dialog.
The amazing thing is that every character except Alex is dis-functional in one way or another, yet Alex, the normal guy, is made out of such thin cardboard, that you often wonder what actually holds him together with all the loonies around him. Christopher Lloyd (Jim) was the most consistent of the loonies around Alex, but really hit his stride later in the Back To The Future Series. Even Elaine Nardo (the shows sex symbol) has her problems, although the most memorable quote from the series comes to me from her. I think it was Louie De Palma who was analyzing all the characters in one episode who quick analysis of Elaine in one sentence summed up her abilities on the show. "Nardo has knobs!" Overall, this is the WINGS of the 1980's. It was a steady show which has brief moments of genius but usually is more urbane than funny. Amazing how the urban characters in this show interact at lower levels than you'd expect.
There were some very funny episodes, ironically the funniest one is one which makes broad slap stick type fun of gay people. While not politically correct now, I would highly recommend that episode as Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch) gets some major funny stuff in that episode.
The amazing thing is that every character except Alex is dis-functional in one way or another, yet Alex, the normal guy, is made out of such thin cardboard, that you often wonder what actually holds him together with all the loonies around him. Christopher Lloyd (Jim) was the most consistent of the loonies around Alex, but really hit his stride later in the Back To The Future Series. Even Elaine Nardo (the shows sex symbol) has her problems, although the most memorable quote from the series comes to me from her. I think it was Louie De Palma who was analyzing all the characters in one episode who quick analysis of Elaine in one sentence summed up her abilities on the show. "Nardo has knobs!" Overall, this is the WINGS of the 1980's. It was a steady show which has brief moments of genius but usually is more urbane than funny. Amazing how the urban characters in this show interact at lower levels than you'd expect.
There were some very funny episodes, ironically the funniest one is one which makes broad slap stick type fun of gay people. While not politically correct now, I would highly recommend that episode as Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch) gets some major funny stuff in that episode.